Author Archive

Alexandra Kelley

Staff Correspondent, Nextgov/FCW

Alexandra Kelley
Alexandra Kelley reports on emerging technology for Nextgov/FCW. Her most recent post was covering breaking news for The Hill where she focused on a variety of quantitative subjects, including Big Tech and the economy, in addition to covering the coronavirus pandemic since late 2019. She graduated from Kenyon College in 2017.
Artificial Intelligence

Trump signs AI executive order

The order calls for the development of an AI action plan and sets up a process for revoking actions taken under President Biden’s previous AI executive order signed in October 2023.

Emerging Tech

Industry group calls on Trump to appoint a quantum czar

A letter sent to President Donald Trump also called for a reauthorization of 2018’s National Quantum Initiative Act. 

People

Trump taps IBM’s Darío Gil for Energy’s undersecretary for science and innovation

Gil previously served on Trump’s President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology under his first administration.

Artificial Intelligence

US ‘has to win’ the AI innovation race, OpenAI exec says

Senior Vice President of Global Affairs Chris Lehane commended a recent executive order opening federal land to AI data center development and posited ways to encourage states to back AI development.

Artificial Intelligence

Biden orders federal land to be leased for AI data center development

The executive action will leverage federally protected lands to develop data centers capable of supporting AI software, with a priority on incorporating clean energy sources.

Artificial Intelligence

USPTO debuts 2025 AI strategy

The agency aims to introduce automation to support patent and trademark application processing.

Emerging Tech

Commerce announces new export control on US AI products

The new export controls will alter licensing requirements for AI chips and closed-source models to allow allied nations to access U.S. AI innovation while preventing adversarial nations from doing so. 

Emerging Tech

El Capitan supercomputer is ready to handle nuclear stockpile and AI workflows

The fastest supercomputer in the world, housed at Lawrence Livermore National Lab, was dedicated to U.S. national security missions on Thursday, supported by novel hybrid processing chips.

Cybersecurity

Forthcoming executive order seeks to plug holes in federal cyber practices

The eleventh-hour cybersecurity executive action asks agencies to rethink software procurement, supply chains and AI, among other things.

Emerging Tech

Lawmakers call for a review of TSA’s biometric and AI use

Members of the House Homeland Security Committee are asking GAO to investigate the benefits and potential harms of TSA’s usage of artificial intelligence and biometrics.

Artificial Intelligence

DHS launches new AI playbook for public sector

The new guidance is intended for other government organizations to use and draws on lessons learned from three internal pilot programs.

People

Trump announces more tech policy team members

President-elect Donald Trump tapped four people — some returning to the White House after serving in his first administration — to serve on his technology policy team.

Artificial Intelligence

Agencies report over 1,700 AI use cases

While federal agencies finalized their artificial intelligence inventories, discrepancies in reporting risk mitigation persist. 

Artificial Intelligence

House AI Task Force recommends sector-specific regs in final report

The document aims to balance keeping the U.S. competitive in AI innovation and adoption while mitigating negative outcomes. 

Cybersecurity

Agencies look to automation software to usher in next phase of post-quantum security

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is working with select agencies to implement post-quantum cryptography, and will turn to vendors to further secure federal data.

Emerging Tech

FY2025 NDAA angles to enhance DOD’s AI and quantum sciences capabilities

The FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act again stipulates more AI and quantum information sciences programming for a variety of U.S. military operations.

People

Industry sees potential in Trump AI czar pick

Following President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of venture capitalist David Sacks to serve as his administration’s AI and Crypto Czar, experts are optimistic about what Sacks’s experience means for U.S. competitiveness.

Artificial Intelligence

Forthcoming House AI report will call for incremental regulation

Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., said he hopes the House AI Task Force’s report will debut sometime in the coming week.

Emerging Tech

Senators introduce quantum reauthorization bill with little time left in this Congress

The bill would provide resources across multiple federal agencies to continue advancing quantum information sciences research following the original 2018 program launch.